Frame of paper or the like.



F. KAUFMAN.

FRAME OF PAPER OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-22. 1914.

v Patented Apr. 9,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

1 m 9 2E p Q 8 2 J M l. k z L/ 2 2 a n0 3 7 n0 v 8 6 P- /l/e i v Even or F. KAUFMAN. FRAME or PAPER 03 THE LIKE.

- I APPLICATION FILED AUG- 22, I914- 1 262,,508. Patented Apr. 9,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- sansra FIQ.

FRANK KAUFMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINQIS, ASSIGNOR- OF TWO-THIRDS TO PHILIP N.

ENGEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FRAME OF PAPER 03 THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed August 22, 1914. Serial No. 858,005.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK, KA FMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Frames of Paper orthe like, and declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a structure or material such as a picture frame or molding that shall combine the elements of strength, rigidity and form in such a way as to be adaptable for use where similar objects made of wood are now used.

I am well aware that in the past picture frames have been made out of paper, but the methods of construction employed and the form have been such as to produce unsatisfactory results, due to lack of strength and rigidity, especially at the corners of a frame, and a tendency to warp, all of which defects are overcome by my improved construction.

Generally speaking, my invention consists in forming or cutting blanks and in rolling or bending or assembling them so as to have not only the desired shape or form, but also, by reason of reinforcement or interior bracing, the necessary elements of strength and rigidity to enable the com pleted structure to hold or support the necessary weight, and to permit it to be sawed or otherwise cut. Furthermore, such a structure can be fastened in place: as, for instance, a molding to a wall by means of nails; or, if in the form of a picture frame, nails can be driven into it to hold the glass or picture in place.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter he pointed out with particularity in the claims; but for a full understanding of my invention and of its object and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating the application of my invention to a picture frame, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan viewof a blank ready to be folded into the form of a frame;

Fig. i, but looking upwardly in Fig. 8;

Jig. 6 is a section taken approximately on line 6-6 of Fig. 4, a portion of the frame member which appears in elevation being broken away to show the interior construction.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the corner shown in Figs. 4 and 5, parts being broken away to show the interior of the frame members Fig. 8 is a plan view of a modified form of blank;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a completed frame formed out of the blank shown in Fig. 8; i

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing a fragment of the frame with fastening pieces for the corners;

Fig. ll. is a plan view of a portion of a still further modified form of blank;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of one corner of a frame made from the blank shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a transverse section through a still different form of frame;

Fig. ll is a section through one side of a frame, illustrating a slight modification of the frame of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a section through a still further modified form of frame; and a Fig. 16 is a perspective view of one corner of a frame, showing an attached finishing strip.

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Figs. 14 and 15, showing a still further modification.

In carrying out my invention I make blanks of fiberboard, cardboard, paper, wood veneer, shaved wood or the like, and fold and secure them in the desired form. here the article to be made is a frame, I take a sheet of the material from which the frame is to be made, out out of the center a section large enough. to make the desired sight opening for the frame, cut

Fig. 2 is aview similar to Fig. 1, showing be rolled or bent inwardly upon the body member and overlie it in the form of tubes.

7 In order that'the tubes may have transverse rigidity, I provide them with interior braces or trusses. In the simplest form of frame each flap is made of a size sufficient to form a tube square or 'retangular in cross section and having a diagonal brace extending throughout the length of the same. The bracing may of course be more elaborate, depending upon the size or shape of the frame, and it may be cut out of a separate sheet so as not to make the flaps unduly wide and thus produce an extravagant waste where the corners are cut out in order to produce the flaps. In the drawings I have illustrated only a few simple forms of my invention as embodied in picture frames and, for the sake of brevity, I shall confine the detailed description to these forms, although it will of course be understood that many changes in (lesi n and confi uration may be made without departing from the principle of my invention. Futhermore, by making the tubular members, not as partof a frame, but as independent elements, tubular bars or moldings of'any desired shape and size may be made.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, 1 represents a rectangular member of heavy paper, cardboard, fiberboard, wood veneer, shaved wood or other foldable material having the central portion cut away to form a sight opening, 2. The member 1, to which I shall hereafter refer as the body member, has a length and a width corresponding to the length and width of the finished frame. At'each edge of the body member is formed a flap, these being indicated at 8, l, 5 and 6 respectively. Each flap is scored along lines parallel with the corresponding side or edge of the body member as indicated at 7; the scoring being such, in the present instance, as to divide each fiap into five panels, thus providing four panels to form the four sides of a tube and a fifth panel to form a diagonal brace for the tube. Each fiap is made as long as the corresponding edge of the body member. Two of the flaps, in the 'arrangement illustrated,the flaps 3 and 5, are simple continuous rectangular pieces while the other two flaps, t and 6, are slit along lines, 8, extending inwardly from the outer edges parallel with the lines of scoring in the flaps 8 and 5 and at a distance from each of the twoside edges equal approximately to the width of the tubes into which the flaps 3 and 5 are adapted to be rolled or folded. The slits 8 extend inwardly to the outer edge of the second panel from the body member so as to leave two panels of full length next to the body member in position to form two walls of a tube, one at right angles to the plane of the body member and the other parallel thereto, and a shorter the first panel next to the body member in each of the flaps a and 6 may be a little wider than the corresponding panels of the other two flaps.

The blank just described may be made in a common form of machine provided with suitable cutting and scoring dies.

when a blank is to be transformed into a frame, the flaps or preferably the entire rear face of the blank is covered with an adhesive and then the flaps 3 and 5 are rolled inwardly to form two parallel tubular members, 9 and 10, overlying the body member. If the blank is lying flat on a table or other support, the members 9 and 10 may be kept from unrolling by simply placing a suitable weight across them. One of the other flaps,

say the flap 4k is then rolled up, forming a tube, 11, two walls and a diagonal brace of which fit between and bear against the ends 7 of the tubes 9 and 10 while the other two walls respectively engage with and close the adjacent ends of the tubes 9 and 10 and lie upon the top of these ends. The ears or tabs, 12, formed by the slits 8 extend inwardly along the tops of the tubes 9 and 10 as indicated in Fig. 3. 'All of the surfaces being covered with an adhesive, the tube 11 is firmly cemented to the tubes 9 and 10, the union being made more secure by means of the tabs or ears, 12. After the flap 4 has been rolled into a finished frame member, the operation is repeated with the flap 6, producing the fourth member, 13, of the frame.

It will be seen that by providing each of the tubular members .of the frame with a diagonal brace, as indicated at 15, which is formed from the extreme outer panel of the corresponding flap, the tubes are not only stiffened against distortion in a direction to flatten them, but they are made extremely strong to resist blows employed in driving 1 nails into the frame behind a picture therein for the purpose of holding it in place. Furthermore, the braces add bodyto the frame 1 members and enable nails driven into the same to take firm hold. The braces, 15, may of course be formed out of separate pieces which are set in place; but where the frames are small and each member is pro-.

therefore cheaper than where it is necessary to assemble several separate pieces.

Even where the braces are made separate from the remainder of the blank, it is advisable that each tubular member .be complete in itself instead of allowing the body.

member to serve as one wall of each of the tubes. By making each tube complete in itself, one wall is of course of double thick.- ness, but this adds strength and permits the body member to be embossed if desired without preventing the tubular members from being firmly secured to it; each tube being securely fastened, regardless of the embossing, if the body member be embossed,

by reason of the fact that ithas a bearing If desired, instead of making the joints between the tubular members in the mannerv illustrated in the first seven figures of the drawings, the ends of the tubes may be cut on the diagonal so as to form miter joints. In Fig. 8 I have illustrated a blank for producing a simple type of frame similar to that shown in the first seven figures of the drawings, except that there are miter joints between the tubes. Referring to Fig. 8, it will be seen that the flaps 3 4 5 and 6, corresponding to the flaps 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Fig. 1 have their end edges, 16, so shaped that when the flaps are rolled inwardly on the body member they form tubes, 17, 18, 19 and 20, whose ends are cut at an angle of 45 degrees so that adjacent ends of the tubes meet each other in the form of miter joints, 21; 1

The miter joints are not, of themselves, nearly as strong as the joints in the arrangement first described and it will there fore usually be desirable to provide additional fastening means so as not to depend merely on the glue or other adhesive between the adjacent ends of the tubes. Thus, for example, corner pieces, 22, as indicated in Fig. 10, may be glued or pasted over the miter joints, these pieces being of any desired size and shape. Again, the joints may be made secure by placing little blocks of wood or the like within the ends of the tubes so that a portion of each block extends into the meeting ends of two tubes. Such an arrangement is illustrated in 12: 24 and 25 representing two tubular members of a frame meeting in a miter joint, 26, and there being a block, 27, lying partly in the end of the tube 24 and partly in the end of the tube 25; the block being firmly secured to both tubes either by means of an adhesive substance or by means of small nails, 28, or both. -VVhere the blocks are employed for making the joints secure,

it isnecessary that the braces in the in- Y terior of the tubes be shortened so as not to interfere with the entry of the blocks into the. tubes. In Fig. 111 have illustrated a blank corresponding to the blank in Fig. 8 but having theends of the outer panel of each of the flaps cut away as indicated, at 29, thus shortening these panels sufficiently to leave room in the ends of the tubes for securing blocks.

In Fig. 13 I have illustrated an arrangement which is better suited for large frames than those heretofore described. Each of the tubular members 30 of the frame is provided with a series of braces or trusses, 31.

of the blanks from which the frame is made,

' it being simply necessary to make the flaps wider and provide additional lines of scoring to give the required number of panels for. the bracing, strips. On the other hand, the braces may conveniently be made of Sep arate strips as shown in Fig. 14, wherein 32 represents a tube similar to the tube 30 and 33 a bracing strip made up of a considerable number of panels corresponding.

to the bracing strip 31 but being formed of a separatcpiece and not part of the main blank. These two forms of my invention as well as the form shown in Fig. 15 in which I have illustrated in cross section a single tube, 34, having an interior bracing strip, 35, consisting of a series of panels, show that the tubular members of the frames. need not be made rectangular or square but may be given almost any de sired cross sectional shape because when the tubes are formed and weighted down, with the bracing inclosed therein, the bracing will spread out and properly locate itself, at the same time insuring that the tubes will assume the proper sh-apes. If desired, the body portion may be strengthened and stiffened around the sight opening byattaching to the rear thereof suitable stiffening pieces as indicated at 36 in Figs. 13 and 14 and at 37 in Fig. 15; this expedient being of course only necessary or desirable where a frame is to be used as a picture frame and a lip must be left around the sight opening to form a bearing for the front face of the glass or picture.

lVhile the front face of the frame may be simply one face of the blank, either plain or embossed, it will of course be understood that the frame may be ornamented by securing thereon an ornamental facing. Thus, for example, a frame, such as indicated at 38 in Fig. 16 maybe provided with an at-- tached decorative facing as indicated at 39. In Fig. 17 I have shown in section a common form of picture molding consisting of a thin portion along one edge of veniently be made by folding or bending an outer sheet, 40 into the proper shape about an inner bracing or reinforcing strip 41. The thin portion of the molding consists, in this instance, simply of three layers of material firmly glued together. portion is formed about and its shape preserved by the inclosed reinforcing strip.

As heretofore explained, I make use of glue, cement or other adhesive material for joining together the various parts in their proper position, and this adhesive material serves also as a means of stiffening or otherwise reinforcing the construction. In my preferred form of construction the whole or nearly the whole interior surface of the completed blanks are covered with adhesive material such as glue, the manner of application being such as quite uniformly to cover the surface with the desired thick ness ofglue and at the same time to fill the depression made in the blanks by the scoring process. The blanks bein bent into shape while the glue is still wet, t e glue, upon drying, will strengthen the material of the blanks where it was weakened by reason of the scored lines. In like manner the surfaces which have been coated with glue are greatly stiffened or strengthened, thus permitting use to be made of a fiberboard or paper which is strong or tough Without being stiff enough,

or of a lighter weight material than would otherwise be possible.

A very important advantage obtained through my invention is that I am enabled to design the construct-ion employed in any particular case to secure the necessary strength without waste of material. It will be appreciated that a molding or frame made of wood must often be Wide or thick or otherwise large in its cross sectional area in order to secure the appearance or orna- 'structions embodying my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the details so illustrated and described; but intend to use all forms and arrangements which come within the terms of the definition of my in vention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

7 1. A frame blank comprising a polygonal body portion having flaps each of a suflicient width to form a hollow rectangular The bulbous frame member when the flap is bent inwardly upon'the body member, two opposed flaps each being divided along two lines extending inwardly from the outer edge to a point removed from the body member a distance equal to the width of two sides of the frame member into which the corresponding flap is to be formed.

structure comprising two sections equal in.

length to said body member, andthird and fourth sections fitting between the ends of the aforesaid sections, said third and fourth sections having at the ends integral portions closing the ends of and overlying the tops of the other sections.

8. A device of the character described comprising a polygonal body member having on one side thereof a hollow frame-like structure integral therewith, certain of the members of the frame-like structure fitting against the sides of adjacent members and having integral portions closing the ends of and overlying the latter.

A. A frame blank comprising a'polygonal body portion having flaps each of a sufficient width to form a hollow rectangular frame member when the flap is bent inwardly upon the body member, a slit being cut in the flaps adjacent to each corner of the body portion from the outer edgesof the blank inwardly to a point removed from the body member a distance equal to the width of two sides of the frame member into which the corresponding flap is to be formed.

5. A device of the character described comprising a polygonal body member having on one side thereof a hollow frame-like structure the members of which are rectangular in cross sect-ion, each member of said frame-like structure having a diagonal strut arranged within the same and extending from the upper inner corner to the outer lower corner.

6. A device of the character described comprising a polygonal member having on one side a hollow frame, and transverse struts lying within the members of the frame, the struts engaging the surrounding structures only at the edges of the struts.

7 A device of the character described, comprising a polygonal body having on one side thereof a hollow frame-like structure, each member ofsaid frame-like structure having a diagonal strut extending throughout the length of the same.

8. A hollow structure comprising a blank folded into the form of a tube polygonal in cross section, one edge of the blank being of tubes formed out of flaps connected to extended across the interior of the tube in the form of a strut. jacent tubes together. 9. A frame comprising a polygonal body In testimony whereof, I sign th1s specimember having on one side thereof a series fication in the presence of two Witnesses.

' FRANK KAUFMAN.

the edges of the body member and rolled in- Witnesses: V wardly upon the same, certain of the tubes WM. F. FREUDE'NVREIOH, fitting between the ends of adjacent tubes, A. POTASCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

and auxiliary flap portions conneoting ad 

